The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honored Indmar Products Company Inc. with a special award for developing the first production catalytic converter for inboard marine engines, ETX/CAT (Extreme Tuned Exhaust with Catalyst).
The first-of-its-kind EPA award recognizes Indmar for ETX/CAT’s “innovative clean emission technology”. It further praises Indmar for “leadership in advancing clean catalyst technology for inboard marine engines to achieve substantial air quality benefits.”
The EPA award was presented by Margo Oge, Director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. Accepting the award for Indmar was Dick Rowe founder/chairman and representatives from the company’s engineering team.
Indmar 5.7L premium EFI V-8 engines fitted with ETX/CAT catalysts will become available this summer in certain 2007 models by Malibu Boats, MasterCraft Boats and Skiers Choice (Supra/Moomba).
Since 1986, Indmar has partnered with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and worked closely with both the EPA and CARB on inboard gasoline marine engine emission regulations.
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BACKGROUND AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON ETX/CAT:
The Indmar catalyst system, dubbed ETX/CAT (Extreme tuned Exhaust with catalyst) is a first for production gasoline inboard engines. It significantly reduces exhaust emissions to less than 5 grams of combined hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) as required by California Air Resources Board (CARB) upcoming regulations. In fact ETX/CAT/-equipped Indmar inboards will be the first marine engines to earn CARB’s top rating of Four Star Super-Ultra-Low Emissions.
The most dramatic achievement for boater safety is ETX/CAT’s substantial reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) gases in all part-throttle operating modes.
More good news for boaters: There is no measurable engine power loss thanks to ETX/CAT’s extreme tuned manifold/catalyst design. With negligible backpressure, the ETX/CAT system is a free-breathing, header style, performance exhaust manifold with the catalytic converter built in.
The advanced single-piece manifold design extends the life of the part by preventing water intrusion or water inversion (water back-flowing into manifold), as is typical with outdated two-piece, center-rise exhaust systems.
The new Indmar proprietary ETX/CAT catalyst functions similar to a car’s. Hot exhaust gas flows into an engine-mounted canister with a catalyst brick of precious metals tucked inside. A high-temperature chemical reaction removes much of the government-targeted gasses (HC and NOx) as well as CO.
Beyond the government mandate of reducing emission levels the converter is important for the way it will enable the population to enjoy a recreational water-sports lifestyle with an extra margin of safety, while at the same time reducing boating’s environmental impact on both air and water quality.
